No abstract

Tools and instruments available in the clinical microbiology labs for analysis of patient samples and diagnosis are constantly evolving. The main impetus behind this is to decrease the overall time taken to obtain the results from the instruments, enhance the ease of sample processing, increasing the sample turn-around time with the ultimate goal of earlier patient treatment and better recovery rates. This is especially true in the case of antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST), where every hour saved in obtaining the results leading to an earlier switch to targeted antibiotic therapy will have a direct influence on improving clinical outcomes. Reduction in the time to obtain AST results reduces the duration of use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, which in turn decreases the emergence of antibiotic resistance among bacteria. Many of the traditional methods available for AST are labor intensive and slow despite being precise in obtaining results. Thus, there is a trend towards development and use of automated diagnostic devices which are rapid and easy to use. This review article provides a detailed summary of traditional AST methods, currently used automated methods, and focuses on some of the promising emerging and future technologies in the field of rapid antibiotic susceptibility profiling.

Abstract. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, yet current diagnostic methods are unable to detect early onset of metastatic disease. Patients must wait until macroscopic secondary tumors form before malignancy can be diagnosed and treatment prescribed. Detection of cells that have broken off the original tumor and travel through the blood or lymph system can provide data for diagnosing and monitoring metastatic disease. By irradiating enriched blood samples spiked with cultured melanoma cells with nanosecond duration laser light, we induced photoacoustic responses in the pigmented cells. Thus, we can detect and enumerate melanoma cells in blood samples to demonstrate a paradigm for a photoacoustic flow cytometer. Furthermore, we capture the melanoma cells using microfluidic two phase flow, a technique that separates a continuous flow into alternating microslugs of air and blood cell suspension. Each slug of blood cells is tested for the presence of melanoma. Slugs that are positive for melanoma, indicated by photoacoustic waves, are separated from the cytometer for further purification and isolation of the melanoma cell. In this paper, we evaluate the two phase photoacoustic flow cytometer for its ability to detect and capture metastastic melanoma cells in blood.

No abstract

The optical reflectance method provides sensitivity to detect small numbers of melanoma cells without created false-positive signals from pyroelectric interference, showing promise as a means to perform tests for circulating melanoma cells in blood samples.